It's not every day an MMO has its fifth anniversary. We caught up with C.W. Bennett, a Sr. Engineer at Paragon Studios who's been working on CoH since 2002 to talk about it.

In case you missed it, we've been celebrating the fifth anniversary of the first MMO to bring Super Heroes to life -- City of Heroes. In light of this monumental occasion, we caught up with C.W. Bennett, a Sr. Engineer at Paragon Studios who's been working on CoH since 2002.

ZAM: First of all, happy 5th anniversary!

C.W. Bennett: Thanks!

ZAM: Will you guys be doing anything special in the office to celebrate this occasion?

C.W.: I'm not doing anything personally, but there is a lot of excitement in the office. I am sure something special will be done to mark this momentous occasion.

ZAM: Are you happy with how the game has developed over the past five years? If so, what's your favorite aspect of City of Heroes right now?

C.W.: Yes mostly.  It is always a little disappointing you cannot do as much as you want to do. Take Mission Architect for example -- we released an excellent version that is full-featured, but is nowhere near "final". There is a huge doc of features we want to get into that system to keep improving on it.

ZAM: What do you think were your three biggest development accomplishments over the past five years?

C.W.: I've worked on a lot of systems, but I think the three that I am most proud of are the Architect System, Base Editor, and the majority of the UI. I was very pleased with the way the extra power trays in the UI worked out, and I think the players were really happy with them, too.

ZAM: Why do you think people continue to play CoH these days? What do you think is so appealing about the game?

C.W.:  I attribute it to having solid game design, along with the innovations we've continually strived to come up with and deliver. We have very high bars we set for ourselves. Most recent example is the Mission Architect, which we're seeing our community have a field day with, which is really rewarding from a development standpoint.  Additionally, I think that gamers really love the fact that they can start a new character and feel heroic from the start.  Every power combination can be effective and any team can do well, there is no 'perfect group'.  There are no time sinks that feel required, so players can plink away at their own pace.

ZAM: To talk a little bit about the future, on April 14th, you announced that NCsoft NorCal would be renaming themselves to Paragon Studios in order to 'represent your devotion to the present and future of the City of Heroes series." Do you think you could give us some hints as to what you're working on next?

C.W.: The evolution of the studio has been an exciting one. Considering many of us are from the initial City of Heroes, it was nice to finally be able to publically recognize the legacy and pedigree of the talent here. It's more than a renaming because it really does represent our commitment to City of Heroes. As for what we're working on next, I can tell you that I am personally adding more features to the Mission Architect. Beyond that, I don’t think I can say anything without getting into trouble.

ZAM: Do you think it would be worth it for someone new to pick up CoH?

C.W.: Certainly.  It's a unique game in that it caters to a wide audience - from your typical MMO player to the casual comic book fan. It's got great depth and lots of variety, such as the character creator which folks can spend endless hours on, but it also doesn't require you to dedicate your life to it be good or to have fun. And we’re fortunate that we've got an extremely active and amazing community so there is a great sense of camaraderie and support. More over, we’ve done lots to keep the game fresh (Hidden Preservatives!)

ZAM: How does the team maintain its enthusiasm, even after five years of development?

C.W.: Honestly, it can be difficult to work on the same game for five years at times, but when NCsoft acquired the rights, we got a hint at where they want to take the future of the franchise. And they've always been extremely supportive of our ideas, which helps when you’ve got such a creative and dynamic group of people.  This has done a lot for team morale.

ZAM: Do you guys have anything you'd like to say to your community on this momentous occasion?

C.W.: Freem! The die-hard CoH fans will get the reference!

ZAM: Thanks so much for answering our questions, and happy anniversary!

C.W.: No problem.

Andrew "Tamat" Beegle
Editor-in-Chief
ZAM.com